Solving the Mystery of Coalca Landing (Abandoned Oregon State Park)

Hidden on the banks of the Oregon’s Willamette River is a state park forgotten to time. This documentary attempts to solve the mystery of this obscure place by exploring its history and piecing together the reasons for its closure.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:12 - Coalca’s Pillar
5:34 - The Sawmill & the Railroad
8:58 - Willamette Greenway
12:33 - Early Years as a Park
15:00 - Fading Into Obscurity
18:08 - Parking Lot Closure
21:25 - River Access
24:11 - The Truth
27:26 - Epilogue & Credits

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This video is for educational purposes and is distributed for non-commercial use. It is not monetized or sponsored. All video footage, images and audio recordings are the property of their original owners and are used in accordance with Fair Use principles.

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Further reading:

Cyclotram 2012 blog post & photos

Jayne Cravens 2011 photos

Usforestkeepers 2011 photos

Oregon Encyclopedia entry on Coalca’s Pillar

Oregon State Parks

Willamette Water Trail

Willamette Riverkeeper:

[goodmaro]

I love it when someone can take a subject of no interest to me and create a great investigative-documentary piece that engrosses me. Here I am late at night watching this beautifully produced YouTube about something far away that I'd never heard of.

[keithwetlesen]

I purchased a former park in southern Oregon. The land had been leased to Jackson county for a dollar a year. Even then, people drank alcohol there. It became a haven for drunks. Hundreds of people, learned to swim there. And kids jumped off the beautiful rock formations, into the cool deep river. I had jumped off those same rocks as a kid. I could not bare that park to fall into disrepair. I have been running the property as a private park, for 7 years. I get by with a little help from my friends.

[subrosa]

What a bizarre coincidence, YouTube suggested this video to me, and I remember this park very vividly from when I was a young kid. My mother would take me here, and I would walk around the park and explore the riverside trails. I distinctly remember those giant empty buildings and asking my mom what those buildings had been for. She said they were part of a sawmill operation from a long time ago. I distinctly remember her parking at the NE corner of the park, and reading her book in the car, while I went exploring. It was very nice to see this documentary, it brought back good memories of my now deceased mother, and a piece of my childhood I had long forgotten. Thank you for this!

[alandab]

I have no idea how I got here. But the fact that I watched this ENTIRE video about a park I've never heard of; in a state I've never visited; and a subject about its closure that I normally wouldn't be concerned about, says TONS about the quality of your work and your excellent delivery. You, sir, are an amazing YouTube content creator!

[traviswilliams]

Did you happen to call Oregon State Parks? Also, when you contacted us (Willamette Riverkeeper) we had no idea your question was related to a video/documentary. We could have provided quite a bit of context in regard to the Greenway and Water Trail. Ultimately, the issue with Coalca has more to do with the Railroad than anything else. In order to have vehicle access, there needs to be a closing gate given the tracks are right by the entrance. The Railroad does not want to pay for that, and it is cost prohibitive for OPRD to do that as well. All the same, you got some nice historical nuggets in there which is cool.

[ryanlaws]

It's people like this guy that will carry humanity, remembering the forgotten, and having that curiosity to learn our history.

[spuwho]

Probably the biggest issue is that when the one house was built in the early 1990's they took over the railroad crossing, updated it and made it private. But looking at Clackamas County property records the crossing was not theirs to take. The property line for the Doerenberger Plant clearly shows that the crossing falls within their property (and therefore belongs to the state). Based on aerials it was used as a back entrance for logging trucks turning off 99E. Older houses south of the plant used the same crossing and simply drove across the dirt. So "someone" in Clackamas County Planning really blew it when they approved the zoning permit (between 1990-1994) for this house to be built and allowed them (or the county) to improve a rail crossing that was not theirs at all. Southern Pacific Railroad was not the best at ROW maintenance in the early 1990's due to their financial condition. Union Pacific took over SP in 1996 and they do manage their property lines very closely. They no doubt pulled the original surveys and records and found that the crossing is "illegal" because it was taken from the state improperly and therefore not registered with the Oregon DOT. I would say this is a very good reason no one wants to deal with Coalca Landing. It has a complicated legal problem on property easements. If you really want to dig, I would pull the records for the Clackamas County Committee of Zoning Appeals and see how that original property owner was able to swing that approval. Either the county surveyor or the private one they hired must have gotten paid a bundle.

[Koifish]

As an indigenous person to Oregon, thank you so much for including the tribal story & history. That’s a real traditional story about star crossed lovers

[brandong]

As a lifelong Oregonian, these videos are among the most compelling and stimulating glimpses into contemporary Oregon history I've ever come across. Great work.

[kerrywilliams]

I lived nearby as a teenager 1969-1971 and visited Rock Island and Coalca Landing from the river, and sometimes on my motorbike. I always wanted to climb up to the balanced rock. Thanks for the great video. I spent time on the log rafts and heard the trains coupling at night.

[twothreebravo]

A 30min video about a tiny park on the other side of the country that I will never visit, will I watch it? YES! Did I end up being glued to my screen the whole time? YES!!! Why? Because Peter makes great stuff.

[aimeeshatto]

I am a 5th generation Oregonian and have lived in Oregon city since 1994 and had no idea. I love history, and having it be local is a treat!

This was so much fun.

[nwyetiphotography]

Nice video Peter! This is Will (and thank you for mentioning me and my photos in your video) who used to take care of it a decade ago. There was a huge lack of funding then as well as now and after about a year I was overwhelmed with the amount of work needed and I was the only one doing it. So it was permanently closed. Now in the past few years, after purchasing a house and living in Canby, I often think about adopting this park again. It has great potential. After Coalca Landing, I became an annual US Forest Service volunteer/ Mt Hood National Forest in the Clackamas River Ranger District in Estacada and subsequently adopted three Forest Service campgrounds as well as performed recreational duties throughout the district.

[drue]

I passed by this place for my whole life and never knew this. Recently moving to Montana has got me all wrapped up in Native uses of land we now live on. This was a freaking AWESOME doc man! Thanks for doing this.

[travis]

"Most people just figured it was easier to go to one of those spots." That is the value of a place like Coalca. The best places are the ones that are hardest to get to. Fewer people, more quiet, more solitude. It's too bad it closed. I hate going places where there are always crowded. The hardest places to get to are always the best places to visit.

[EricAndonian]

Peter Dibble does an incredible job making these short documentaries! Fantastic.

[bkcowgod]

I have zero interest in a random closed park on the Willamette River, but I just watched a 30 minute deep dive into its history and closure. Great work, and it's so awesome to see the growth of your editing skills. Keep these videos coming, your channel definitely deserves to grow!

[MG-_-]

Only a year late but seriously impressed by all the research this needed. awesome

[annie-k]

I just found this you tube and I loved learning this.
I find remote history like this fascinating!

[consentofthegoverned]

You went down a rabbit hole with some real depth here- Thank you for this thorough journalism!